Ask HN: Does the World need more software?

Is there a (natural) demand for more and more software?

5 points | by Vektorceraptor 1 day ago

11 comments

  • takinola 8 hours ago
    There is likely 2-orders of magnitude demand for more software than currently exists. Speaking for myself, I have so many different apps I would like to have but would not be commercially viable to build because the problem it solves is very specific to my circumstance. The ROI now makes sense now that I can spin up Claude Code and build apps for these use cases in an a couple of hours so I have a suite of apps that are really just for me.
  • faizantahir_dev 15 hours ago
    I think Jevons Paradox applies here: as software becomes cheaper and more efficient to produce (especially with LLMs), the demand for it actually increases rather than decreases.
  • tacostakohashi 13 hours ago
    Probably less, actually.

    Most of what passes for "software" these days is basically some niche hardcoded workflow that falls to pieces if you try to do anything even the slightest bit different.

  • JohnFen 1 day ago
    It's not rare that I wish there were software that would do something, but it doesn't exist or what does exist is terrible. So yes, there is at least some need and demand for more software.
    • Vektorceraptor 1 day ago
      Why not code it yourself - fitting you personal needs (if there is no market for that)?
      • JohnFen 12 hours ago
        Sometimes I do, but I have a long list of projects and don't have time to implement everything I need myself.
      • chistev 17 hours ago
        They didn't say they don't end up coding it themselves.
  • LarryMade2 13 hours ago
    Currently we have a cycle of obsoleting hardware necessitating re-inventing software for the new platforms. So technically, yes.
  • soniare 3 hours ago
    we need more organic food and gardens to be honest but ya also software
  • omertt27 17 hours ago
    I think, there are still tools that makes people live better.
  • fragmede 1 day ago
    There's a discovery problem, and with AI tools, it's easier to write your own than discover if a particular tool is what you want.
  • neopocott 9 hours ago
    [dead]
  • unmayx 17 hours ago
    [dead]
  • HNLurker2 1 day ago
    [dead]